Coming towards the end of my Cuban/Caribbean trip now. By this stage I’d just heard the news about the floods in Tadcaster, realised Lemmy was not immortal as I thought, and seen Stoke City play like Barcelona. All bad news, and a 24 journey home to come. I was looking forward to a return to… Continue reading CAYMAN BOCK
GUINNESS IN JAMAICA
Leaving Cuba we made a return visit to Montego Bay, skipping Dunns River Falls this time for a tubing trip down the Great River at Montpelier. Tubing basically means sitting in a tyre and holding on, both to the tyre and to the plastic cups of white rum punch being passed round as you go over… Continue reading GUINNESS IN JAMAICA
THE CASE FOR A CUBAN BREWDOG
Yesterday I tried to sum up Havana’s non-beery appeal, but I didn’t cover the things for which it’s famous (and likely to be much more so once Americans are allowed back in). I don’t get cars (Pop Plus/Ka/Aygo is my history), and I couldn’t even tell you what the one above is (it‘s blue), but… Continue reading THE CASE FOR A CUBAN BREWDOG
HAVANA – DON’T GO FOR THE BEER
But DO go for everything else. Mrs RM had always wanted to go to Havana. In the end, I think I fell for it even more than her. It has a shambolic beauty, characteristic of Genoa and Naples which I also love. Although lacking the hills of those two, it’s possibly even more aimlessly walkable,… Continue reading HAVANA – DON’T GO FOR THE BEER
EL PATCHANKA, HAVANA
The bar scene in Manchester has a bit of a head start on Havana, but Patchanka wouldn’t look out of place on Tib Street, or anywhere in East Berlin. Patchanka has the massive advantage of no obvious Hemingway connections, or inclusion in the usual guides, having seemingly opened a year or so ago. Very basic, covered… Continue reading EL PATCHANKA, HAVANA
THANKS TIM
Thanks Wetherspoon – decent Birthday pints at Gatwick. Jaipur this morning (and Pride landside last night). Perhaps a few more Spoons airport pubs ought to be in the Beer Guide like they are in Scotland ?
DEGUSTATION IN TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Last post before Cuba, so where else but Royal Tunbridge Wells to say goodbye to proper beer for a week (I think). Paul Bailey has written about the merits of my in-laws town in increasingly glowing terms recently, and among the new places he’s mentioned it was the Fuggles Beer Cafe that appealed most. This… Continue reading DEGUSTATION IN TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Annual retiredmartin Awards 2015
One year of retirement. 4,215 miles walked (a bad December) 3 days spent at home (man flu) 64 new bands seen 525 new pubs visited 10 awards. 1. Discovery of the Year – Linz Cheap flights & hotel, rambling cobbled streets off a gorgeous central square, strenuous walks (or ancient funicular) to a hillside castle beer garden,… Continue reading Annual retiredmartin Awards 2015
STOCKPORT HILLGATE STAGGER
I’ve mentioned Stockport‘s marvellous pubs many times on this blog. One thing I hadn’t done was join one of the local CAMRA branch’s renowned pub crawls, so the annual Hillgate Stagger last night was another tick on the bucket list. Pub crawls with unfamiliar folk can be a bit daunting, so I was grateful to Cooking Lager’s… Continue reading STOCKPORT HILLGATE STAGGER
REAL HISTORY IN CAMBRIDGE
Cambridge has many faults. It’s flat, chain-driven and has old-fashioned museums that are the poor relation of the hands-on galleries of the North (compare Preston’s Harris with the Fitzwilliam to see what I mean). Even the bacon rolls at the Abbey Stadium aren’t a patch on their late ’90s standard. Cambridge has some merits though. Trinity… Continue reading REAL HISTORY IN CAMBRIDGE
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